Cyntoia Brown was granted clemency, and her release is set for August 7th! Cyntoia was arrested at the age of 16, she is now 30, and is currently incarcerated at the Tennessee Prison for Women. She has said a pimp named “Kut Throat” forced her into prostitution and that this is what eventually led her to kill 43-year-old Nashville real estate agent Johnny Allen in 2004. Allen had taken Brown to his house after picking her up at a restaurant. Brown has already served 15 years in prison; she wouldn’t have been eligible for parole until she had served at least 36 more years.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 1,000 children are arrested for prostitution in the U.S.
Cyntoia’s case has increased awareness of how the justice system treats child victims of sex trafficking. We need to continually press in, pray, and take actionable steps so that the justice system will continue to grow in advocating for children and transitional-age-youth survivors of sex trafficking.
Read Cyntoia’s statement here:
Thank you, Governor Haslam, for your act of mercy in giving me a second chance. I will do everything I can to justify your faith in me.
I want to thank those at the Tennessee Department of Corrections who saw something in me worth salvaging, especially Ms. Connie Seabrooks for allowing me to participate in the Lipscomb LIFE Program. It changed my life. I am also grateful to those at the Tennessee Department of Corrections who will work with me over the next several months to help me in the transition from prison to the free world.
Thank you to Dr. Richard Goode and Dr. Kate Watkins and all of you at Lipscomb University for opening up a whole new world for me. I have one course left to finish my Bachelor’s degree, which I will complete in May 2019.
I am thankful for all the support, prayers, and encouragement I have received. We truly serve a God of second chances and new beginnings. The Lord has held my hand this whole time and I would have never made it without Him. Let today be a testament to His Saving Grace.
Thank you to my family for being a backbone these past 14 years.
I am thankful to my lawyers and their staffs, and all the others who, for the last decade have freely given of their time and expertise to help me get to this day.
I love all of you and will be forever grateful.
With God’s help, I am committed to live the rest of my life helping others, especially young people.
My hope is to help other young girls avoid ending up where I have been.
Thank you.”
